Tata Motors faced challenges with its old mainframe-based information systems that had high maintenance costs and integration issues. It wanted a centralized, integrated system to improve information flow. Tata evaluated top vendors and selected SAP R/3 as the best fit standard software solution. After implementing SAP, Tata experienced benefits like automated processes, reduced costs and servers, easier purchasing and reporting, and improved decision-making through online information and analysis tools.

1. . CASE STUDY ANAYSIS
About Tata Motors
Tata Motors Limited,India’s largest automobile company, with consolidated revenues of
Rs.1,23,000 crores (USD 27 billion) in 2010-11 is located in Mumbai, India. The Company’s
manufacturing facilities are located in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Pune (Maharashtra),
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), Sanand (Gujarat) and Dharwad
(Karnataka). Tata Motors is also expanding its international footprint in several countries
inEurope,Africa, theMiddle East,South East Asia,South AsiaandSouth America. The offices
and manufacturing units are design to produce mid size cars, trucks, buses and other
commercial vehicles. Close to 4 million Tata vehicles ply on Indian roads, since the first
rolled out in 1954. Today TATA motors’ vehicles run in more than 70 countries with strength
of 24,000 employees all over the globe.
The Challenges –
Information system is vital in maintaining the production rate in a cost-effective, customised
environment. Tata plants across India are supported by mainframe-based information
systems .The result are high maintenance cost and complicated system integration. The
amount of time and money that the company spend on system maintenance is very high, and
the goal was to keep the IT costs as low as possible.
The company desperately wanted an integrated information system, so that the flow of
information becomes fast and effective.The company wanted a centralised system where the
entered information automatically sent was without delay.
The Solution –
At first Tata Motors created an operational model which shows the process flow, they then
used this model to find the best suit application tool available in the market to meet their
business need. In addition to being able to match the processes, Tata’s criteria for the
software includes global scope, latest tools and technology, end to end full integration
without any interface problems and configurable documents.
Tata put together a list of the top five vendors in the marketplace and mapped the system
against its need. SAP R/3 was the best fit of all. According to the most of company’s opinion;
SAP provided the best standard software solution in the industry for their requirements.
Tata then decided to go with SAP implementation.
The Benefits –
Once SAP was implemented, automation of several processes helped in reducing the cost and
time. Tata experienced benefits in productivity and cost control. The number of servers and

2. applications run on them has been reduced drastically. Some other benefits they experienced
are as below –
Manufacturing: Production planning and material management became automatic
Documents: Invoicing, orders and other documents are now generated automatically
Requisitioning: Purchasing and finding the best vendor or supplier became easier.
Reporting and Analysis: Standard and specific reports can now be generated just by a click,
analysing and comparing the reports is now automatic
Decision-making: Availability of online information, analysis and better planning toots
helped Tata managers to take better decisions.
Questions :
A) Point out the five basic problems Tata was facing?
B) What were the basic solutions of the problems?
C) Briefly describe the objective of the study?